Sunday, July 26, 2015

A Living Bible Story

July 26, 2015

This morning I had the privilege of hearing what I believe to be pastor Joe's best sermon yet. He was passionate and to the point as he dealt with the Biblical story of David and Bathsheba. Actually, Joe is always passionate and to the point. If anyone doubts where he stands on almost anything, they just aren't paying attention. But tonight, it's time for my own Bathsheba story.

About ten years ago, I joined my good friend Richard Smith on a mission trip to Nepal. It was my fourth and sadly, final trip with him. Circumstances were such that we weren't able to work together again, which I truly regret. Richard is the best when it comes to organizing and leading mission teams, and his influence is largely responsible for my love of missions and the mission culture of Park church.

Our trip began in Delhi, India, where we worked with the national missionaries for Every Home for Christ, then took a train to see the Taj Mahal, which is even more impressive in real life than the photos and travelogues can portray. From Delhi we flew into Kathmandu where my story takes place. If you've ever read National Geographic or seen a documentary on the Hindu culture, you've seen photos of the exquisite stone and wood sculptures that adorn all the religious buildings and many of the ordinary ones. But if you've not been there yourself, you wouldn't know how much these carvings are censored for publication. In short, they are explicitly pornographic, and they appear everywhere. The small hotel at which we stayed had shingled awnings that wrapped around the building. These awnings had angled wooden supports, and each one of them had a carving depicting a different sexual position.

Early one morning after rising and showering, I looked out the window at the rooftops where laundry hung and Buddhist prayer flags fluttered in the breeze. Suddenly, a door to the neighboring roof opened, and a young woman stepped out. On the roof before her was a big tub of water. She proceeded to disrobe and climb into the tub, but not before she checked to see if I was watching. As the sari she had been wearing dropped to her ankles, the story of David and Bathsheba popped instantly into my mind, and I looked away. I thought to myself, "This is how it all started." The story begins in 2 Samuel 11 with the narrator telling us that it was "the time of year when kings went to war," which makes me wonder why David was in Jerusalem instead of out in the field with his men. Were the years catching up with him? Was his affair with Bathsheba some sort of mid-life crisis where David was trying to recapture the illusion of youth? Whatever the reason, he wasn't where he should have been, and when he saw what I saw, he didn't turn away. He kept looking till he was inflamed with illicit desire.

Before it was all over, he was not only an adulterer, but a murderer. This incident marks the zenith of David's reign. Before this, everything kept coming up roses for David; from this moment on, his reign and family life was one disaster after another. He was forgiven, but he and the nation paid a high price for his indiscretion.

I cannot claim to be more righteous than David. Unlike him, I had an example to warn me, and thankfully, I listened. St. Paul tells us that the Scriptures were written not as an example of how to live a holy life, but as a warning to avoid the mistakes and sins of those who have gone before. I never expected that one day I would find myself in the exact same situation as David, but I am grateful that on that day, I remembered, I resisted, and I was rescued by the mercy of God.

No comments:

Post a Comment